The self-harm Project

panic/anxiety attack

janspider:

• breath in for 4 seconds
• hold your breath for 7 seconds
• exhale breath for 8 seconds

repeat once or twice more.

This causes an autonomic nervous system shift from a sympathetic (fight or flight reaction) state to a parasympathetic response.

Use this for panic/anxiety attacks, exams, presentations.

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_8inTzGAJ8)

A Few Tips On Dealing With Hallucinations

something-better-here:

I have psychotic episodes sometimes, where I deal with both auditory and visual hallucinations and here are a few things that I have cobbled together that help.

1) Don’t be alone if you can help it. It may just be me, but when I’m alone, it’s like everything multiplies. I realize of course that not everyone can help that, and I think it’s better to be alone than be with someone who is a jerk about the fact that you’re hallucinating, so it’s important to be cautious about that, I think. But I know that I deal better when my partner is home, and I’m not alone.

2) I cannot remember who said it, but I cannot thank them enough. When you are dealing with visual hallucinations and you aren’t sure if they’re really there, take a picture. It isn’t foolproof because sometimes you’ll end up hallucinating about what’s in the picture, but it really does help. And if nothing else, you can take the picture and show it to someone else and ask them “what do you see?” to make sure that it’s really a hallucination.

3) On a similar note, if you’re hearing things, try recording them. Record what’s going on around you and play it back. Again, it may not work if you end up hallucinating what’s going on in the recording, but it can help. And again, it’s something you can send to other people and have them listen and give you feedback.

4) Sometimes drowning things out helps. Sometimes when I keep hearing things, if I play my favorite music really loud, it will help me ignore the hallucinations. I’m not sure how to transfer that to visual hallucinations. Maybe watching a favorite TV show or movie? As long as it isn’t triggering in other ways, that is.

5) If you have pets, like a cat or dog, pay attention to their behavior. If they aren’t reacting to what you’re seeing or hearing, that can help reassure you that it’s not really there.

6) If you’re having tactile hallucinations, sometimes trying to override it helps. For instance, if you’re hallucinating that things are crawling on you, a bath can help. If you’re smelling things that aren’t there, you could try overriding it with a really strong smell (like cinnamon or something like that).

These are just a few things that I’ve found can help. Feel free to add on!

If you relapse, repeat after me:

drugalcoholrecoverycenters:

• You are not weak.
• You have not lost this battle.
• You are not selfish.
• You are not out of control.
• All the progress you made hasn’t magically disappeared.
• You are not a failure.
• Life is a cycle of highs and lows- good times are ahead, so keep going forward.
• You matter.

“Am I recovered enough to go back to school?”

edrecoveryprobs:

A lot of schools of thought about recovery say that you’re never 100% recovered. To a large extent, I agree – it’s just more complicated than that. 

It might be helpful for you to work with someone who knows you well (therapist you’ve been seeing, close friend, sibling, etc) with no motive to push you harder than you want to be pushed to break down what your responsibilities as a student will be, which stressors you’ll likely face, etc. and then go through them one by one to determine if you can/which conditions are necessary for you to REALISTICALLY handle it. Example:

• Study 2 hours per day ← I can do that if I have a study buddy and regular study times
• Wake up early enough to meet my carpool ← if I go to sleep between 10pm and midnight
• Feed myself throughout the day ← If I bring money, check in regularly about whether I’m eating, avoid skipping breakfast, and keep snacks
• Handle stress of publicly critiquing my writing ← if I have time after class to process any feelings that come up, and if I have my anti-anxiety meds just in case.
• etc.

Now: is it realistic for me to expect that I can not only fulfil my student needs, but also the conditions that precipitate that? In this case, yes. In the past, there were different circumstances that made it a bad idea for me to try to do the semester: I was not able to self-regulate and take care of basic needs, I was doubtful about my ability to ensure attendance under my own supervision, I couldn’t focus enough to read more than a sentence or two at a time, my major assignments had absent professors (online and self-study), etc. I tried anyway, and it was a huge waste. 

That’s when I realized that a realistic, factual assessment of what my current capabilities are – NOT what I ought to expect of myself – was way more important than how much I wanted to be able to go.

It was definitely hard to admit certain limitations (like “unable to read” or “not enough self-discipline or time management skills to ensure adequate studying”), but remember 1) mental/learning disabilities ARE disabilities, it’s okay if it does disable you in some way and 2) even if it’s not due to disability and is just a stubborn character flaw: it’s better to address it and work around it than to try to pretend it away.

Relapse Does Not Equal Failure

if you have anxiety or sensory issues

auto-matic-stop:

you might want to try this app called mynoise! there’s an free iphone app for it too! they offer:

• many different types of soundscapes (rain, forest noises, chiming bells, white noise etc)
• calibration that tailors to your personal hearing and compensate for environmental noise
• volume adjustment of noises at different frequencies and it’s good for people who can’t take certain high pitched noises

it’s very calming and can help you to focus on studying or tuning out background noises in crowded/noisy areas